At the 2023 Fifa Women’s World Cup, Colombia upset Germany with a 97th-minute goal from Manuela Vanegas.
The South Americans took the lead thanks to a wondergoal from Linda Caicedo, but Germany responded with a penalty from Alexandra Popp in the 89th minute.
When Leicy Santos’ corner came in, Vanegas headed it past Merle Frohms, energising the throngs of Colombian fans in the Sydney Football Stadium.
It caused Germany to lose in the World Cup group stage for the first time since 1995.
After Caicedo, 18, stunned the two-time world champions on minute 53 with a spectacular curling shot into the top corner, the game came to a chaotic conclusion.
On August 3, at 11 a.m. BST, the last round of games in this group begin with Colombia playing Morocco and Germany playing South Korea.
Germany might need a win to guarantee a spot in the knockout rounds while Colombia only needs a point to win the group.
Angelo Marsiglia, Colombia’s assistant coach, said, “Obviously, you need to be happy and ecstatic because this is a great win for the entire country and we’ve been feeling this.”
“However, the contest and the competition are still ongoing, so we’ll go gradually. Our team is incredibly experienced and well-informed.
Vanegas winner ignites amazing scenes
Before the match, Germany’s Lina Magull claimed that they were prepared for Colombia’s “passion” and physicality; yet, they received much more than they anticipated.
With many midfield battles and challenging tackles against the two-time world champions, Colombia made the match a true contest, making it difficult for Germany to establish any sort of rhythm.
Germany thought to have escaped with a point after falling behind to Caicedo’s stunning moment when Colombia custodian Catalina Perez fouled Lena Oberdorf and captain Popp converted the penalty.
However, Colombia had other plans, and its supporters were thrown into a frenzy by the unexpected character of full-back Vanegas.
The same stadium hosted Colombia’s opening victory over South Korea, where a sizable contingent of fans showed up. Here, they were loud and present once more. When the final horn blew, it appeared like Sydney had been changed into Bogota.
The only concerning development for Colombia was the last-second stretcher exit of center-back Jorelyn Carabali following a collision with Popp.
Beginning with a 3-2 loss to Sweden 28 years ago, Germany went 20 games without losing in a row in group stage matches.
They lost to strong, determined opponents, which is far more worrisome for them and will cast some doubt on their ability to reach their first final since they last won the world championship in 2007.
Martina Voss-Tecklenburg, the Germany coach, stated, “It’s up to us. “How we play is up to us, and it’s our responsibility to do that. I’m not really concerned that we won’t make it.
Caicedo’s latest show-stopper is a wonder girl
Caicedo’s career trajectory has been anything but typical; she made her professional debut at age 14 before receiving an ovarian cancer diagnosis at age 15, when she had chemotherapy and surgery.
Her preparation for this game was not easy either. She passed out during a training session on Tuesday, but the Colombian team downplayed the incident by blaming stress and exhaustion.
There is a lot of emphasis on Caicedo, who is still only 18, as the pivotal player in Colombia’s attack, and early in the second half, she proved why with what may be considered her “Michael Owen moment.”
At the 1998 World Cup, England attacker Owen, then 18 years old, sped past the Argentina defence to score an impressive solo goal.
In 2023, Caicedo manoeuvred around a group of German players to get a yard of space before unstoppably curving the ball over custodian Frohms.
If Linda Caicedo was unfamiliar to the football world before, she most certainly is now. And if anyone in the football world wasn’t following Colombia before, they most certainly are now.
